Every year millions of people, companies, and other institutions file various documents with the different governing bodies, such as agencies and services of local, state and national governments. The documents typically are directed toward such things as filing taxes, inventory and accounting filings, medical reimbursement filings, and the like. Each document typically has multiple data-containing fields into which a user is required to enter data.
Each field in the document is typically completed with data representing a concatenation of various pieces of information. For example, in an accounting sheet, the data representing the amount of sales may include several pieces of information (e.g., the amount of sales completed (payment received and product shipped), the amount of sales ordered (payment received and product not yet shipped), amount of sales received under contract (payment not received and product not yet shipped)).
The parameters that define which pieces of information to include in the data are typically governed by one or more regulations. For example, a regulation may specify that sale received under a contract without payment received or product shipped may not be included on the accounting sheet.
While the documents are being filed with the different governing bodies, the different governing bodies constantly pass new regulations concerning the data entered in the documents. Specifically, the parameters for entering the data may change. For example, a person who marries in the tax year may or may not file a joint tax return with the person's spouse. As another example, recently a regulation is passed to allow a taxpayer to claim state and local tax deduction for sales or income tax. Tax for motor vehicles may be added to the deduction, but only at a general sales tax rate. In order to comply with the regulations passed by all of the governing bodies, the person entering the data must be aware of new regulations.
To file the various documents and ensure that the data entered into the documents comply with the regulations, software products that are directed toward filing the document may be used by people, companies, and institutions. Typically, software products include several methods for simplifying inputting the data into the documents. For example, a software product may separate the documents into forms, request data using user-friendly questions, and perform automatic calculations of different fields within the forms. By using an easy-to-use user interface, a person is able to navigate the complex documents and ensure compliance with regulations.